Sleeping-blanket.



PATENTED FEB. 21, 1905. c. M. w. EIKLE. SLEEPING BLANKET.

LPPLIOATIOI FILED SEPT 14, 1904 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

. INVENTOR.

WITNESSES. 210?. 4x112). 554.

No. 782,819. I PATENTED FEB.,21, 1905.

, c. M. w. BIKLE.

SLEEPING BLANKET.

APPLICATION FILED 8BPT.14, 1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

PATENTED FEB. 21, 1905.

0. M. W. BIKLIE. SLEEPING BLANKET.

APPLICATION FILED 8121214, 1904.

3 8HEETS-SHEBT 3.

FIG. 3

' INVENTOR.

.DLJCZQA 4x7 WITNESSES. 5

Patented February 21, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

CORA MAY IVATERS BIKLE, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

SLEEPING-BLANKET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 782,819, dated February 21, 1905. Application filed September 14, 1904. Serial No. 224,429.

To ctZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, 001m MAY WATERS BIKLE, a resident of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Sleeping-Blankets; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof. 4

My invention relates to a robe or sleepingblanket especially designed for use with small children, although it may be used by adults.

My object is to provide a blanket which can be folded around the child and secured in such a manner that it is impossible for the child to become exposed, but which blanket when unfolded is perfectly flat, so that it is very easy to launder and. can be used as an ordinary blanket, if desired.

Most children are very restless in their sleep and will throw or kick off the covering, thus becoming exposed and frequently taking cold as a result. Various schemes have been resorted tofor preventing this,such as especiallymade garments or clamps or holders for securing the bedclothes to the bed. The latter are unsatisfactory, because they tear the bedclothing, and at best are not satisfactory, as the child will find ways of wriggling from under the fastened clothes. Specially-made garments of course are eflicient; but they require special cutting, fitting, and sewing, and, furthermore, are not easy to launder, nor can they be used for any other purpose except a sleeping-garment.

The object of my invention is to provide a blanket which can be folded around the child and secured in such a manner that it will be impossible to become exposed, thus having all of the advantages of a specially-made sleeping garment, this blanket, however, being such that when unfolded it is perfectly flat, thus making it very easy to wash and keep clean and also permitting its use as an ordinary blanket when desired.

To this end the invention consists in a blanket provided with openings or slashes formed in one of its edges and with arm-flaps, the whole being designed to fold in a certain manner and being provided with means for fastening the same securely around the child, all

as will be hereinafter particularly described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view of my blanket, showing the same unfolded. Fig. 2 is a view showing one of the sides folded over the central portion, and Fig. 3 is a view showing the entire blanket folded and fastened as it will be around the child.

In the following description I shall for convenience refer to the end of the blanket which is to be next to the head of the child as the upper end and the opposite end as the lower end.

The blanket itself is practically rectangular in shape and is provided at its upper end at the center with a shallow U-shaped opening 1 and on each side of the center with corresponding U shaped openings 2' and 3, respectively. These several openings when the blanket is folded form the neck-opening. Also at the upper end and intermediate the openings 1 and 2 and 1- and 3, respectively, are two deeper U-shaped openings or wide slashes 4 and 5, which extend toward the opposite end of the blanket and which when the blanket is folded form the armholes. The blanket is adapted to fold on the lines of the U-shaped openings or slashes 4 and 5, these lines of fold being indicated by the dotted lines 6 and 7, so that the blanket, in effect, is formed of three main portionsnamely, a central portion 8, which becomes the back of the garment when folded, and two side portions or flaps 9 and 10, which fold over the front of the child, and thus form, in effect, a double-breasted garment.

At the upper corners of the blanket are the arm-flaps 11 and l2,respectively, which project outwardly beyond the side edges of the blanket and also upwardly beyond the top edge of the same. These arm-flaps are designed to fold on the horizontal lines 13, and they are provided at their upper and lower edges with suitable fastening means 14,whereby the flaps serve the same general purpose as sleeves of ordinary garments.

On the upper end of the blanket at either side of the central neck-opening 1 are the projecting portions 15 and 16, which are designed to foldon the horizontal lines 17 and l8,respectively, and also at said upper end between the neck-opening 2 and slash 4 is a projecting portion 19, designed to fold on the horizontal line 20, and between the neck-opening 3 and slash 5 is a similar portion 21, designed to fold on the horizontal line 22. Suitable fastening means will be applied to the blanket, as will be more specifically hereinafter referred to.

In the use of this blanket we will assume that the child is laid on its back on the central portion 8 of said blanket. The side portion 9 is then folded over the front of the child in the manner indicated in Fig. 2, the arm-flap 11 extending through the opening or slash 4 on the opposite side of the blanket. The other side portion 10 is then similarly folded over the front of the child and over the side portion 9, thus forming, in effect, a garment having a double breast or front. The side portion 10 is provided at its edge with fasteners 24, and on the opposite face of the blanket, practically in line with the opening 5, are cooperating fasteners 24:. After the blanket has been folded in the manner just described these fasteners will be connected to secure the blanket in place around the child. The armflap 11, as before stated, will project through the opening or slash 4:, the latter thus forming, in effect, an armhole. This arm-flap will be folded on the line 13 around the arm of the child, and the fasteners 14 on its edges connected to form, in effect, a sleeve for the garment. The other arm-flap 12 will likewise be folded around the oppositearm of the child and fastened in the manner just described. Then the projection 15 will be folded forwardly over the shoulder of the child on the line 17 and the cooperating projection 19 .will be folded backwardly over the same, these two projections being provided with the coacting fastening means 25 and 25, whereby they are secured together. The projection 21 on the opposite side will be folded over the opposite shoulder of the child, the projection 16 then folded from the rear also over said shoulder, this projection 16 being provided with the fasteners 26, which cooperate with companion fasteners 26 on the arm-flap 12, which latter is folded over the flap 16 and the fasteners connected to secure the garment in place over this shoulder of the child.

The foot of the blanket may be provided with fastening means for securing the edges firmly together. Preferably, however, the entire blanket will be folded over at its foot along the line 28, and in order to secure the same in place the central portion of the blanket is provided with a downwardlycurved portion 29, provided with fasteners 30. The side portion 10 on the opposite face of the blanket is provided with cooperative fasteners 30, to which the fasteners 30 are'attached when the blanket is fully folded up, as shown in Fig. 3.

All of the fasteners shown in the drawings are such as ordinarily used for glove-clasps, these being well adapted for the purpose for l the reason that they can be easily secured tol gether and form practically no projections i from the surface of the blanket. Any other suitable fasteningnieans, however, may be employed, and my invention is not limited in this particular.

The blanket itself may be made of any suitable material, either woolen, silk, linen, cotton, or the like. The blanket will be cut out to the shape shown in Fig. 1, so that there is very little waste of material. The edges will be bound in any suitable way, so as to prevent the same from fraying, and the fasteners will be secured in the several places indicated, some being on one face of the blanket and others on the opposite face.

The blanket described requires no special fitting or sewing and when completed is perfectly flat. As a result it can when desired be used as an ordinary blanket and in making up the bed can remain underneath the counterpane. It is very easy and simple to make and can be readily laundered, so that it can be kept in a perfectly sanitary condition. It is nevertheless so made that when folded around the child and secured in the manner described it is impossible for the child to kick the same off or to wriggle out of the same. As a consequence the child cannot become exposed, and the danger of taking cold while sleeping is al most entirely avoided.

Vhile I have spoken in the foregoing specification of the upper and lower ends of the blanket, this has been done merely for convenienceof reference, as the blanket may, if desired, be made of the shortest dimension .from head to foot, so that in that case the length would really be from side to side. In describing the manner of placing the blanket around the child I have stated that the child is placed with its back on the central portion 8 of the blanket. This of course would be the case with very small children; but with larger children able to stand the blanket could be applied while the child is standing by merely folding the blanket around the child in a manner which will be fully understood.

WVhile I have described the blanket for use on children, I wish it understood that it is not limited thereto, as it may be used by adults such as in hospitals in case of delirium, &c., or as a sleeping-bag by campers, &e. The blanket also is not limited in its use as a sleeping-blanket, as it may be used as a robe by a child or adult when riding in cold weather. For summer use it may be desir able to omit the sleeve-flaps, it being sufficient if the body be protected. Such a modication comes within the terms of the claims hereinafter made.

\Vhat I claim is" 1. A flat seamless blanket provided at one of its ends with a pair of U-shaped openings or slashes extending inwardly toward the 0pposite end of the blanket, said blanket being designed to fold on the lines of said openings or slashes with one side portion overlapping the other side portion to form a double covering over the breast, and projecting portions on the opposite sides of said openings or slashes, designed when the blanket is folded to fold over the shoulders of the user, and means for securing said blanket at the shoulders and sides.

2. A flat seamless blanket provided at one of its ends with a pair of U-shaped openings or slashes extending inwardly toward the opposite end of the blanket, said blanket being designed to fold on the lines of said openings or slashes, projecting portions on the opposite sides of said openings or slashes designed when the blanket is folded to fold over the shoulders of the user, means for fastening the folded portions of the blanket, and means for closing the lower end of the folded blanket.

3. A blanket provided at one'of its ends with a pair of U-shaped openings or slashes extending inwardly toward the opposite end of the blanket, said blanket being designed to fold on the lines of said openings or slashes, and two outwardly-extending arm-flaps at the adjacent corners of said blanket and adapted when the blanket is folded on the lines of the slashes to project respectively in line with the slash on the opposite side, and means for securing the edges of the folded-over blanket and the-edges of said arm-flaps.

4. A blanket provided at one of its ends with a pair of U-shaped openings or slashes extending inwardly toward the opposite end of the blanket, said blanket being designed to fold on the lines of said openings or slashes, and two outwardly-extending arm-flaps at the adjacent corners of said blanket and adapted when the latter is folded on the lines of the slashes to project respectively in line with the slash on the opposite side, means for fastening the folded portions of the blanket, and means for closing the lower end of the folded blanket.

5. A blanket provided at one of its ends with a pair of U-shaped openings or slashes extending inwardly toward the opposite end of the blanket, said blanket being designed to fold on the lines of said openings or slashes, and two arn1flaps at the adjacent corners of the blanket and projecting outwardly and upwardly therefrom, and adapted when the blanket is folded on the lines of the slashes to project respectively in line with the slash on the opposite side and to fold on horizontal lines, and means for fastening the edges of the folded-over blanket and the edges of said arm-flaps.

6. A blanket provided at one of its ends with a pair of U-shaped openings or slashes extending inwardly toward the opposite end of the blanket, said blanket being designed to fold on the lines of said slashes, and two armfiaps at the adjacent corners of the blanket and projecting outwardly and upwardly therefrom, and adapted when the blanket is folded on the lines of the slashes to project respectively in line with the slash on the opposite side and to fold on horizontal lines, means for fastening the upper and lower edges of said arm-flaps, fastening means on one of the side edges of the blanket, and cooperating fastening means on the opposite face of the blanket and substantially in line with the U-shaped opening or slash on said side.

7. A blanket provided at one of its ends with a pair of U-shaped openings or slashes extending inwardly toward the opposite end of the blanket, said blanket being designed to fold on the lines of said slashes, two arm-flaps at the adjacent corners of the blanket and extending outwardly and upwardly therefrom and designed to fold on horizontal lines, cooperating fastening means at the upper and lower edges of said arm-flaps, fastening means on one of the side edges of the blanket, eooperating fastening means on the opposite face of the blanket and substantially in line with the slash on said side, and means for closing the lower end of the folded blanket.

8. A blanket provided at one of its ends with a pair of U-shaped openings or slashes extending inwardly toward the opposite end of the blanket, said blanket being designed to fold in line with said slashes, two arm-flaps at the adjacent corners of the blanket and extending outwardly and upwardly therefrom and designed to fold on horizontal lines, fastening means at the upper and lower edges of said arm-flaps, fastening means on one edgeof the blanket, cooperating fastening means on the opposite face of the blanket in line with the slash on said side, a projecting [lap at the lower end of the central portion of the blanket, fastening means on said flap, and cooperating fastening means on one of the side portions of the blanket and with which the fastening means on the bottom flap connect.

9. A blanket provided at one of its ends with a central and two side curved cut-away portions to form a neck-opening and also provided at said end intermediate said neck-openings with two deep U-shaped openings or slashes, said blanket being designed to fold in line with said deep openings or slashes and thereby bring the two side neck-openings into register with the central neck-opening, said blanket being provided at the opposite ends of the deep slashes with projections adapted to fold over the shoulders, means for fastening said folded projections, and suitable means for fastening the folded portions of the blanket.

10. A blanket provided at one end with a central and two side shallow U-shaped cutaway portions to form the neck-opening and with two deep U-shaped openings or slashes intermediate said central and side neck-openings, a pair of arm-flaps at the adjacent corners of the blanket and designed to fold on horizontal lines, said blanket being designed to fold in line with the deep U-sheped openings 01' slashes, and thereby bring the side and central neck-openings into register and have one of the arm-flaps project through the slash on the opposite side, said blanket having intermediate the neck and deep openings projecting portions designed to fold over the shoulders, and suitable means for fastening the folded portions of the blanket.

In testimony whereof I, the said CoRA lVlAY VVA'rnRs BIKLE, have hereunto set my hand.

CORA MAY W ATERS BIKLE. Witnesses:

ROBERT C. TOTTEN, G. C. RAYMOND. 

